Updated October 16, 2020 5.6k votes 763 voters 46.9k views
It's always tricky talking about video game movies simply because there isn't a strong history of movies based on video games. When some of the "best" video game movies include Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, the batting average for these films isn't all that great.
Part of the issue is arguably the interactivity of games and how players experience the stories as participants themselves. By the time the film adaptation comes around, fans already know what the material means to them personally and no film version could possibly stack up. There are also the problems of Hollywood simply picking games that aren't worthy of adaptation, completely missing the entire point of the game itself, or settling on hired guns rather than enlisting more creative filmmakers.
In the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Transformers, however, licensed films are getting a lot more respect, making a lot more money, and bringing in a lot more talent, so there's hope for the video game movie.
With this list, we're going determine the video games that have the potential to becomes great movies, or at least what games we'd most like to see adapted into films. Some of these are already in development, but as we all know, the movie isn't made until it's out in theaters, so vote for the video games that would make the best movies.
Our supply of westerns is dangerously low, and with Red Dead Redemption's classic western tropes - sins of the father coming down upon the son, the encroachment of civilization ending an era of complete freedom, more than a few outlaws, and a tale of good old fashioned revenge - this would make this an excellent property to adapt to film. We need more westerns. Seriously! It's a fantastic genre that shouldn't be ignored and the name recognition of this one could put butts in seats.
Do you want to see a man in Ancient Greece bent on revenge and killing actual gods? It's pretty obvious that you do. This simple and bloody affair has got Guillermo Del Toro written all over it. Del Toro's not actually involved, but there's a budget for the movie adaptation now. So far it hasn't moved forward, but once it does, fingers crossed for Jason Momoa playing Kratos.
This action-adventure stealth game already has all the hallmarks of a great action movie - walking tanks, international intrigue, a history that spans decades, and more than a little humor to round out those edges. The film adaptation is in pre-production, and Christian Bale stated that he enjoyed the franchise several years back. Now that's wrapped his turn as Batman, perhaps there's room for Solid Snake on his plate. Here's hoping that actually comes to pass.
The Fallout universe is rich with possibilities, but Fallout: New Vegas lends itself well to a film version because the battle over Hoover Dam is a central point that anchors the entire story. People need water, they need power, and they're going to fight over both. With characters like Mr. House, Caesar, Yes Man, and Mr. New Vegas populating the landscape, this version of post-apocalyptia could make the jump rather well.
Come to think of it, it might jump too well. Perhaps a film isn't what's needed here, but a TV show. Much like Game of Thrones, it could take a deeper look into all the various factions, histories and landscapes of the Wasteland. With all the stories worth telling in this game, why should we limit ourselves to just one?
With some of the most beautiful visuals in gaming, the city of Columbia is a rich place for storytelling. Between that and the mindbending "tear" aspects (and that philosophical, if not perplexing, ending), this is just a world you want to see on the big screen. While the first two BioShock games have a silent protagonist, Infinite gives us Booker DeWitt, a deeply troubled Pinkerton agent, and Elizabeth, a young woman with incredible power as well as a history that blows the story wide open.
Even if the storyline were to take out some of the more confusing metatexual elements, it would still be an incredible film of high adventure and characters with very troubling and fascinating pasts, in the midst of a city that's about to explode with racism and hypernationalism.
Between Gangs of New York, Hugo and Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese might be prepared to do a blockbuster of this sort. One of the most legendary directors in the medium tackling BioShock Infinite would certainly go a long way towards legitimizing video game movies, too.
The movie version of this epic series is tentatively slated to come to the theaters no earlier than 2018, so a lot can still go wrong in development. But the story of a galaxy in peril against an ancient, species-killing force known as the Reapers is perfect for a full-blown trilogy of films. One thing though: FemShep. The production has stated that the movie would be casting a male Shepard as the lead, but come on, we've seen that before. Put Keri Russell in an awesome future battle suit and call it a day.
Also, the Commander should at least be Renegade. We've had plenty of Paragons save the world.
